Contents

Geography

Yavin 4 ecosystem

Landforms

Yavin 4 was composed of a molten metallic core with a thick, immobile low-relief silicate crust. The surface was made up of four continents which accounted for sixty-seven percent of the moon's surface. These continents were mostly covered in large sprawling tropical jungles with tall canopies though there were also a few mountain ridges like the Yunteh Mountains, dominated by volcanoes such as the Nicolo and Borundi Peaks.

Yavin 4 also had six interconnected oceans which covered the remaining thirty-three percent of the moon. There was also a large landlocked sea on the moon. As a relatively young world, the tiny jungle moon experienced a considerable amount of geothermal activity. Large rivers flowed dramatically from volcanic heights and then followed a more meandering pace through the jungles.

Species

Yavin 4's large, sprawling tropical jungles teemed with an abundance of life. Whisper birds soared above the thick jungle canopy. Packs of arboreal Woolamanders fed on fruits in the thick jungle canopy. The trees were also home to another rodent species known as the Stintarils.

Sadow also encased himself in a Sith sarcophagus where he remained in a coma-like trance for centuries, waiting for someone to call upon his power and continue the history of the Sith. He remained in suspended animation until 4,400 BBY, when a fallen Jedi named Freedon Nadd arrived on Yavin 4. By then, the descendants of the Massassi had devolved into a primitive hunter-warrior society. At first, the Massassi attacked him though his use of the Force amazed them, who recalled the Golden Age of the Sith. They then showed him where the Dark Lord rested, waiting for other Dark Jedi. Nadd then awoke Naga Sadow, who taught him in the ways of the Sith, until, as was the Sith's nature, Nadd killed him, becoming Dark Lord himself.

Centuries later, in 3,997 BBY, the fallen Jedi Exar Kun went to Yavin 4 at the advice of the dark side spirit of Freedon Nadd. There he discovered the Massassi, who tried to sacrifice him to a monstrous beast of alchemical origins beneath their main temple. However, using his dark powers, he managed to save himself. The dark side manifestation of Freedon Nadd appeared, delighted with Kun's actions and claiming him as his ally - though Exar Kun would hear none of this and instead used his newly-found Sith powers to destroy Nadd.

As the new Dark Lord of the Sith, he enslaved the Massassi and took over Yavin 4. He then used his Massassi slaves to construct new Sith temples and palaces, based on Sith architecture and designed to focus dark powers. His slaves also discovered the flagship of Naga Sadow beneath the ruins of an ancient Massassi temple. He also created vicious Sithspawn including the battle hydras, terentateks, and the Night Beast. The Sith Lord also imprisoned the souls of the children of the Massassi in a malevolent Dark Side device known as the Golden Globe.

Later, Kun allied himself with the Krath - another group of dark-siders based in the Empress Teta system under the leadership of Aleema Keto and another fallen Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma. He then went to the Jedi world of Ossus and recruited twenty Jedi to his cause, thus starting the Brotherhood of the Sith. In 3,996 BBY, Exar Kun along with his Krath and Mandalorian allies waged war on the Republic and the Jedi. The Jedi eventually prevailed and gathered their forces for an assault on Yavin 4. However, as the orbiting Jedi fleet launched a wall of light side power which bombarded the jungle moon, Kun gathered his Massassi followers into the Great Temple and drained their life energies in order to free his spirit from his body and invest it into the surrounding structures where he would remain for millennia.

Jedi Cleansing

The Jedi attack obliterated much of the jungles and scorched the temple complex to the extent that nothing could survive. After the attack, the Jedi established an underground city on the moon and used it to modify the climate of the moon into a jungle state and to help restore the planet's ecosystem and ensure that Kun is never awakened. During the Great Hunt, the moon was cleansed of terentateks by the Jedi.

The Jedi eventually left Yavin, erasing information about the moon hoping to end its evil legacy[3]; though in later years at least one individual still knew its location, as the "Jedi prince" Ken was hidden there by a brown-robed Jedi Master. The city was eventually rediscovered by Luke Skywalker, who trapped the imposter Kadann, Supreme Prophet of the Prophets of the Dark Side, there.

The Wolhanian expedition of archaeologists studied the Massassi ruins. They uncovered a bas-relief depicting Jedi and Sith battling in the Great Hyperspace War as well as a Sith chalice. Both of these items ended up in the art collection of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.

This battle became known as the Battle of Yavin, and its date is used galaxywide for marking events. Events before the Battle of Yavin are marked by BBY, and events that occur after are marked by ABY. A few days after the battle, Solo and Chewbacca stole ancient Sith treasures from the temples, and sold them, to finance replacements for the devastating Rebel losses against the Death Star.

Imperial onslaught

The Rebels remained on the moon for 6 months afterwards, until finally escaping the Imperial blockade. Yavin IV requested the assistance of the Defiance in order to protect their evacuating ships in space. General Jan Dodonna remained behind, blowing up a temple to damage the Imperial forces. Under the secret observation of Mara Jade, Darth Vader wiped out the remaining ground troops and captured the injured Dodonna, whom Vader interrogated until Dodonna revealed the Rebel presence on Reytha. Dodonna was then imprisoned aboard the Lusankya, although most Rebels, and even Mara Jade, mistakenly believed him dead. The Empire then occupied the moon.

The Empire maintained a military base, a labor outpost, and a mining outpost on the planet. In response, the Rebels set up a new base on the planet to harass the Imperials, but in a place other than the earlier Massassi Station. The Imperials were forced to construct a new base after the original was captured by Rebels.

It was not long before it became apparent that not all was well at the Academy. The spirit of Exar Kun, Sith Lord, haunted a temple on the moon and began to influence Luke's students towards the dark side. Kun attacked Luke, forcing him into a coma, and Kyp Durron, one of the most promising students, fled the Academy in the Sun Crusher, wreaking havoc on the galaxy and destroying the Imperial fortress world of Carida. Eventually Luke was awoken and the Sith spirit was defeated by a joint Jedi offensive including the then infant Solo twins.

Later that year, the Empire Reborn under Desann and Admiral Galak Fyyar attacked the Jedi Praxeum though they too would be defeated by the efforts of the Jedi and their New Republic allies. Because of his heroic actions, Kyle Katarn chose to rejoin the New Jedi Order.

Unwitting discoveries

The battle for Yavin IV rages.

In 22 ABY, Anakin Solo (the youngest of the Solo children) and Tahiri Veila discovered the Golden Globe and the Kushiban Jedi Master Ikrit during an exploration of the crumbling Palace of the Woolamander. With the help of Ikrit and ancient Massassi engravings found at the Palace and on nearby Yavin 8, the pair broke the curse of the Golden Globe, thus freeing the trapped Massassi children.

In 23 ABY, during an exploration of the surrounding jungles, the Solo twins Jacen and Jaina, along with their friends Tenel Ka and Lowbacca discovered the wreckage of a TIE Fighter from the Battle of Yavin. Unfortunately, the pilot of the vehicle Qorl reappeared and took the Solo twins hostage, forcing them to repair the damaged ship before escaping into hyperspace to rejoin the Empire.

Later that year, the Jedi Praxeum was attacked by the dark side Shadow Academy and the Imperial insurgency group Second Imperium. However, they were defeated by the combined efforts of the Jedi and their New Republic allies.

Yuuzhan Vong War

Praxeum's destruction

For the first year the of the Yuuzhan Vong War, the moon was protected from the Yuuzhan Vong via use of the Force to create an illusory projection, a technique borrowed from the Fallanassi. However, the Jedi Praxeum was destroyed by the Yuuzhan Vong in 26 ABY. The Peace Brigade/Yuuzhan Vongvictory was partially due to the fact that the New Republic was unwilling to provide aid for the Jedi. By then, most Jedi had been mobilized for military action and only the youngest Jedi adepts and trainees remained at the Jedi Praxeum. The destruction of the "heretic Jeedai" provided a large morale boost to the Yuuzhan Vong.

The Jedi Anakin Solo and the smuggler kingpin Talon Karrde, along with his personal fleet, managed to evacuate the vast majority of the remaining Jedi trainees, though the Kushiban Jedi Master Ikrit was killed by the Peace Brigade troops and Tahiri Veila was captured.

Yuuzhan Vong occupation

The shaper compound on Yavin 4.

With Yavin 4 in their hands, the Yuuzhan Vong initiated a Vongforming program on the moon by using damuteks to flatten the ancient Massassi temples and then establishing a colony. Meanwhile, the Master ShaperMezhan Kwaad and her apprentice Nen Yim began performing experiments on Tahiri, in an attempt to brainwash her by replacing her personality with that of Riina Kwaad, an identity formed out of memories copied from Nen Yim's own childhood.[10]

While in the enemy base, Anakin learned that Vua Rapuung had once been a skilled Warrior. He once had an affair with Mezhan Kwaad. When Rapuung decided to break off the affair, Kwaad, fearful he would reveal their affair, infected him with a virus that caused his body to reject implants he received after his escalation, rendering him a Shamed One. Rapuung, however, knew that Kwaad was responsible. Faced with a common enemy, Rapuung agreed to help Anakin rescue Tahiri on the condition that he would help him confront Kwaad.[11]

Dying, he gave Anakin Solo and Tahiri Veila enough time to escape. Anakin and Tahiri fled, along with Qorl and the others, on a repaired freighter. This incident started a legend among the Shamed Ones that said he was redeemed in his death, thus beginning the Jeedai heresy. Members of this sect saw the Jedi as saviors rather than enemies, and would be cultivated on worlds such as Dubrillion[12] and conquered Coruscant, helping to topple the Yuuzhan Vong Empire.

Later history

Following the liberation of Coruscant from the Yuuzhan Vong in 29 ABY, Grand Master Luke Skywalker dismissed the notion of rebuilding the Praxeum, however, stating that the Praxeum had served its purpose, and that the Jedi would find a new home elsewhere.[13]

Behind the scenes

The real-world location of Yavin 4 is the ruins of an ancient Mayan city at Tikal, Guatemala.

Most of the shots of approaches to Yavin 4 from space are just repeats or copies of the Millennium Falcon approach in A New Hope, the only change being a ship replacement.

The online game Star Wars Galaxies features two hidden Jedi Enclaves on the planet, one light and one dark. They served as meeting places for Jedi of the game, and were guarded by two CL 500 Jedi Sentinels. As of Chapter 7, the enclaves are no longer in usage, and the Sentinels have been removed, but the ruins of the enclaves could still be visited.

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Rather than have his friend Tahiri suffer in the hands of the enemy, Anakin went on a mission to rescue her. With the help of Qorl who had been eking out a life in the jungle ever since the defeat of the Second Imperium and the Shamed Yuuzhan Vong Vua Rapuung, Anakin managed to infiltrate the Yuuzhan Vong compound disguised as a slave.